Internal combustion engine



7 July 2, 1935. L. M, WOOLSON 2,006,976

I INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Oct. 25, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l I amnion [JO/V51. M [1/0 24 savanna-1;

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L. M. WOOLSON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Oct. 25; 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L/ ONEZ H No 0; 50 0566/9560,

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i UNlTED. STATES Patented July 2, 1935 PATENT OFFICE":

, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 'Lionel M; Woolson, deceased, late of Detroit! Mich., by Emma. F. Woolson, executrix, Bloomfield Village, Mich., assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Michigan 7 Application October 25, 1936, Serial No. 491,252

' 3 Claims. (01. 123-41) This invention relates to internal combustion enginesand more particularly to engines of the solid-fuel, compression-ignition type.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an engine of the type specified which can pusher power 5- wardly or rearwardly, thereby resulting in easy maneuvering on the ground. i

Still another object of the invention is to pro-, vide a self-igniting engine in whichuthe crank I shaft-can be rotated in opposite directions and still produce, the same results from fuelinjection' devices and valve actuating mechanisms which are driven from the crank shaft.

T -hese andother objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with thedrawings, which form apart of this specification, and in which:

Fig.1 is an end elevation of an internal combustion engine, partly broken away and'partly in section to show the fuel injection devices and the operating means'the'refor; j

i Fig. 21s a side elevational view of the same partly in section to show the portions of the mechanism housed within the crank case;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic end View of the transmission mechanism for driving the cam,

andthe iuel andlubricating pumps; 7

"Fig.4. is a View looking upwardly from beneath'the transmission mechanism within the crank case. p Y I Referring now to the drawings by characters of reference, ld'designates a barrel type of crank case from which a plurality of cylinders ii' extend radially. The cylinders include a skirtportion H, which projects through open- 'in'gs 'in the crank case, and flanges Iii which bear'against the outer face of thefcrank 'case. A pair of bands 84, secured in high tension, surround and engage the flanges of the several cylinders and provide a securing means therefor as well as a means for placing the crank case in compression. Arranged in the same plane-with eachof the's'ecuring bands are reinforcing Walls l5 and i6 between which the v crank chamber is arranged." The Wall I6 is re movably secured-Within the crank case by bolts i1 and the crank shaitlB extends through the. crankcase and'is carried by bearings associated with the two reinforcing walls. T

Eachofthe cylinders is'provided with a head which consists of an integral end wall l9-and an auxiliary endwall'2li, there being a v nturr passage 2i extending through such end walls from the exterior'to theinterior of the cylinders.

Such Venturi passages are preferaby arranged at an angle to theaxisof' the associated cylinder andtangentially of the inner wall thereof in order to direct air drawn into the cylinder by the piston 22 in a spiral direction. Such pas== sages also serve as the" exhaust outlet port.

In order to control the passages 2l there is as sociated with-each a valve 23' which is normally closed by a plurality of "coil springs 24 and;

mechanically opened during the exhaust and in take strokes of the piston through a suitable mechanism drivenfrom the crank shaft including a rocker arm 25 and'a' rod 26 which extend respectively in the housings 21 and i3;

{I'he engine illustrated is preferably of the solid fuel injection, compression-ignition type and is designed particularly for use asthe power plant of an aeroplane; "The engine also is} pref:

erably'of the four-stroke eycle type in'whiohjair is drawn through the passages 2i upon the suction strokeof the pistons, iscompressed during'the. compression stroke of the pistons and during such stroke is mixed"with atomized fuel oil and'further compressed" until explosion takes place, after which thereis a powers'troke and then the usualexhaust stroke. It will be un-- derstood that the pistons, are connected with the crank shaftthrough means of a master rod having a; main connecting rod 29 and a plurality or connecting rods is pivotally associatedwith the master rod hub, I

There is a fuel injection device associatedpreferablyone with each cylinder, and each of such devices is actuated independently throughmeans of the cam 3i. ,These'inject'ion devices are similar and a description of one will sufiice for all. 'The device includes a nozzle section- 32 which isfsecured by bolts 33' to the cylinder and through which oil under pressure is'pro-je'cted into the air rotating in the interior'of the cylinder during'the compression stroke.

section is associated with the nozzle section-and includes a casing 34 in which is arranged a bar"- rel'35, there being; a passage-way between the barrel and the nozzle section: -A plunger 36=-is" arranged to reciprocatewithin the barrel and is normally moved inwardly of the. crank case-by A 'u p e so: I

the coil spring 31. A plurality of aligned ports 38 extend through the barrel and the casing and communicate with a housing 39 which surrounds the casing, such housings of adjacent devices being connected by conduits 40. The conduits and housings form a fuel oil feeding manifold which is connected with an oil reservoir and a low pressure pump for moving the oil from the reservoir through the'manifold into the pump barrels when the plungers 31 uncover the ports 38.

It will be observed that the length of the plunger stroke after closing the ports 38 will determine the volume of oil which is evacuated from the nozzle and projected into the compressed air in the cylinders, and also that the speed at which the plungers are moved will determine the pressure at which the fuel. oil charges are injected into the compressed rotating air in the cylinders.

In order to move the pump plungers in an injection stroke, overcoming the resistance of the coil springs 36, I provide a push rod 4| which extends through a sleeve 42 in the crank case and engages the inner end of the plunger head, there, being a suitable adjustable end 43 for engaging the plunger. A rod 44 engages in a pocket in the inner end of the push rod and bears against the rock lever 45 which is pivoted at one end upon the shaft 46. This shaft extends transversely of the compartment formed by the removable reinforcing wall l6 and the end cover 41. The rods 44 are movable longitudinally of the rock levers 45 and engage against a curved surface 48 so that the movement imparted by the rock levers to the push rods 4| through the rods 44 can be varied to change the plunger stroke so that a desired volume of oil will be moved through the nozzle or so that the plungers will not close the ports 38 when the rock levers are moved outwardly through the contact therewith of the cam 3|. In order to vary the angular relation of the rods44 relative to the push rod 4|, I provide a control ring 49 to which is pivoted links 50, such links also being pivotally secured to the rods 44 so that as the ring 49 is rotated in either direction the links will move the rods 44 therewith. The link is maintained against the reinforcing wall l6 by means of bolts 5| which extend through the slots 52 in the ring and are secured to the rein-.

forcing wall I6. The ring 49 is manually regulated by means of a shaft having a gear segment 84 thereon meshing with the rack 82.

The cam 3| is preferably provided with two sets of lobes 53 and 54 which project from the periphery thereof, and such cam is mounted so that it can rotate around the rear end of the crank shaft and is secured axially thereon by ders so that the four lobes in each set on the cam 3| will cause one complete operation in each two revolutions of the. crank shaft. There are preferably four lobes in each set, the lobes 53 being arranged in a plane to actuate the rock levers 45 of the fuel device actuating mechanisms while the lobes 54 are arranged in a plane to actuate rock levers 6| with which the push rods 26 of the air valve actuating mechanism engage, such rock levers 6| being mounted upon the shafts 46 adjacent the fuel rock levers 45.

It will be observed that the lobes 53 are provided with a similar face at each end and that they are similar in form and equally spaced. By this form and arrangement of the lobes 53 the fuel injection devices will be actuated in the same manner in either direction of the rotation of the cam 3|. Looking at the rear of the engine as viewed in Fig. l, the crank shaft moves in a clockwise direction when the engine is rotating the propeller (not shown) at the front end thereof to cause forward progress of the aeroplane, while the cam 3| will be driven in a counter-clockwise direction. The crank shaft in starting can be rotated in either direction and the cam will actuate the fuel injection devices to inject fuel charges into the compressed air charges in the same quantity and at the same time relative to piston top center as they do when the cam is operating in an opposite direction. It is also possible to reverse the crank shaft rotation when the fuel has been cut off and is again opened up while the crank shaft is rocking in the opposite direction from that in which it was rotating previous to the fuel being cut off, and thus with the mechanism herein illustrated the engine can be reversed without cranking or it can be cranked to start in either direction of crank shaft rotation and under either condition the fuel injection devices will be actuated just the same.

During normal operation of the engine, the cam mechanism operates in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, and the valves are actuated so that they are closed 155 before the pistons reach top center on the compression strokes. During the compression strokes and about 40 before the pistons reach top center, fuel is injected. The valves remain closed until the crank shaft has turned on the power strokes of the pistons, whereupon they are opened and remain so for 430 of the crank shaft rotation, during which time the exhaust strokes, the air intake strokes and a portion of the compression strokes take place. Thus during every two rotations of the crank shaft, a complete cycle of operation takes place in each cylinder although the cam rotates only 90 with respect to the crank shaft angle.

When the crank shaft is reversed, the cam mechanism operates in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, and the valves are actuated in a reverse relation to that in which they are operated when the cam is rotating in the counterclockwise direction. The valves are opened at after top center position of the pistons and stay open for 430 of the crank shaft rotation, during which time the exhaust and the air intake occur. Fuel is injected during the exhaust period and after the valves have opened on the exhaust strokes. The valves are closed, after being opened, 430 of the crank shaft rotation, as above related, and remain closed for 290 of the crank shaft rotation, during which time the compression and the power strokes occur. Although the fuel is injected during the exhaust strokes and is partially moved out of the cylinder, it will be drawn back again during the first portion of the air intake strokes before leaving the engine due to the arrangement wherein the air inlet and the exhaust outlet utilize the same conduit. I

It will be noted that there is no shifting of the transmission gearing for operating the fuel devices and the valves, and that the crank shaft itself rotates in either direction either through cranking at starting or through shutting off the oil delivery and turning it on again when the crank shaft has practically stopped and is rocking in a reverse direction from that in which it was just running. It is necessary, however, with the engine so far described to provide a reversing transmission gearing for the lubricating oil pump and the lower pressure fuel oil pump so that they will turn in the same direction irrespective of the crank shaft rotation. As shown in Fig. 4, there is a shaft 62 carried by the end wall upon which there is mounted a pair of spaced gears 63 and 64 while the slidable shaft 65 extends through the end wall in suitable bearings in a parallel relation with the shaft 62. Mounted upon the inner end of the shaft 65 is a gear 66 which is arranged to mesh either with the gear 51 in the transmission leading to the cam 3! or with the gear 64. The gear 64 will rotate the gear 66 in a direction opposite to that in which it will be rotated by the gear 51 because the gear 63 meshes with the gear 51. The shaft 65 extends through a lubricating oil pump housing 61 and a fuel oil pump housing 68, and gears 69 are arranged within the casing 61 for moving oil through the lubricating circuit, one of the gears being slidably keyed to the sleeve 84 keyed to the shaft. In the housing 68 there is a set of gears 12 for moving the fuel oil under low pressure from a reservoir (not shown) through the conduit 10 and through the conduit II to the fuel feeding manifold previously described, one of the gears of the set 12 being slidably keyed to the sleeve 84 in which the shaft 65 is slidably mounted. In order to axially shift the shaft 65 so that the gear 66 will mesh with either the gear 64 or the gear 51 I provide a rock lever 13 which engages a collar 14 on the shaft and is controlled by a suitable linkage such as indicated at which extends to a remote point adjacent the'operator.

Looking at the rear end of the engine, with the casing removed as shown in Fig. 3, the crank shaft [8 is rotated in a clockwise direction when the engine is propelling the aeroplane in a forward direction and the gear 51 will move in a counter-clockwise direction thus driving the gear 66 in a clockwise direction when it meshes therewith, and driving the shaft 62 in a clockwise direction which will drive the gear 66 in a counter-clockwise direction when it meshes with the gear 64. It will be seen, therefore, that the gear 66 can be shifted to mesh with either the gear 51 or the gear 64 so that the rotation of the shaft 65 can be maintained in the same direction irrespective of the direction of rotation of the crank shaft, and thus regardless of the direction in'which the crank shaft is rotating the two pump mechanisms can always be driven in the same manner. Conduits 15 and 16 lead to and from the crank case and form a part of the lubricating circuit, a pressure forcing the lubricant through ducts within the casing and the lubricant being removed from the sump of the chamber in which the cam 3| is located and in which excess lubricant drains by gravity.

useful in retarding the speed of an airship when reversed in the air. It will also be observed that the engine functions uniformly at any given fuel setting with the crank shaft turning in either direction, and only the drive for the pumps needs to be reversed to achieve this result.

While I have herein described in some detail.

a specific embodiment of. my invention, which I deem to benew and advantageous and may specifically claim, I do not desire it to be understood that my invention is limited to the exact details of the construction, as it will be apparent that changes may be madetherein without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention. 6 e

What I claim is: I l.-In an internal combustion engine having a plurality of fuel injection devices, a crank shaft adapted to rotate in opposite directions, driving means connected with the crank shaft for actuating the injection devices when the crank shaft is rotating in either direction, a low pressure fuel pump for feeding oil into the devices, and reversible transmission gearing between the driving means and the low pressure fuel pump.

2. In a reversible internal combustion engine, a fuel feeding system comprising a plurality of injection devices, high pressure developing pump means operatively associated with said devices,

engine rotated means operable in opposite directions to actuate said pump means, a fuel feeding manifold connected with the injection devices, a source of fuel supply connected with the manifold, low pressure pump means between the ing lobes formed and arranged to actuate the plungers to introduce fuel into the cylinders for compression with the air charges upon rotation in either direction, a fuel manifold connected with the devices, a pump connected with the manifold to maintain fluid therein under a low pressure, and mechanism driven from the crank shaft for actuating said low pressure pump, said mechanism being selectively adjustable to operate the pump in only one direction irrespective of the direction of crank shaft rotation.

EMMA F. WOOLSON, Emecutria: of the Estate of Lionel M. WoolsOn, Deceased. 

